Chiles Vows To Protect Tourists

April 6, 1993|By Leslie Doolittle and Susan G. Strother of The Sentinel Staff

The widely publicized killing of a German visitor in Miami prompted Gov. Lawton Chiles on Monday to step up the state's war on crimes against tourists.

''We are not going to take this kind of conduct in Florida,'' Chiles said at a meeting in Miami of the Governor's Task Force on Tourist Safety. The panel was created in February after crimes against tourists, including the shooting death of a British man in Orlando, captured international headlines.

Barbara Jensen Meller, 39, was beaten and run over by her assailants' car Friday night in front of her two young children and her mother after becoming lost in the Liberty City section of Miami. She was the sixth tourist and the third German to be slain in Florida since December.

Tourism officials across the state were clearly concerned Monday that this latest tragedy would further jeopardize Florida's reputation as a safe place to visit.

''We, too, have sympathy for any victim of crime,'' said Bill Peeper, executive director of the Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau. ''This is a very, very fragile industry. Things like this can destroy it in very short order.''

Friday's attack so outraged Klaus Sommer, general consul at the German Consulate in Miami, that he indicated last weekend he might warn Germans against visiting Florida. But on Monday, Sommer said he was ''reassured'' after talking to the governor.

''We are not advising anyone to come or not to come to Florida,'' he said, to the relief of state and industry officials. He said the governor expressed his outrage and offered condolences several times.

''I found this very kind and immediately informed the people back home,'' Sommer said. ''. . . I am grateful to his (Chiles') personal initiative and his official initiative. It is reassuring. This is a great place with great people. It is a shame when foreigners run into trouble. This is destroying the reputation of decent people.''

The Bonn government, however, said Monday it was ''deeply shocked'' by Meller's slaying and plans to work out recommendations for German tourists.

''We are naturally very concerned about the security situation,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Hanns Schumacher told a news conference in Bonn.

Shortly after the governor and consul spoke in Miami, three Danish women were victimized in a smash-and-grab robbery nearby. Police arrested a 24-year-old man who they said threw a spark plug through the window of a rental car the women were driving. There were no injuries.

The state is planning several new ways to combat crimes against tourists, including establishing a fund that would bring back international crime victims to Florida to testify in criminal trials. Commerce Secretary Greg Farmer said the state wants to send the message, ''If you mess with our tourists, you're going to pay.''

The governor said the state was offering ''all of our assistance'' to Miami and Dade County, but he did not give specifics. He also said he would speak to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, the former state attorney in Dade County, about federal assistance because the incident may be classified as a carjacking, which is a federal crime.

''We now have to show our people and our foreign visitors that Florida is . . . a place that will protect people and our visitors,'' Chiles said.

Tourism is Florida's biggest business, attracting more than 40 million visitors - 13 million to the Orlando area alone - and $28 billion annually.

The governor extended for 60 days his executive order prohibiting the state from issuing rental car tags starting with ''Y,'' ''Z'' or ''lease'' insignias. Officials believe such markings make the cars more vulnerable to criminals.

Although legislation that would have permanently outlawed the telltale markings failed to pass this session, rental car companies have been working to voluntarily comply with the order. About 21,000 specially marked plates have been turned in, leaving about 600,000 still in circulation. The governor said he would urge the Legislature to revisit the tag issue and make criminal justice issues a priority at an upcoming special session.

In response to the killing, the task force said Monday that it would immediately erect road signs in the Miami area to direct tourists to major destinations. Members also vowed to speed up efforts to create 500 tourist destination centers in Dade by July 1.

The pilot program would place multilanguage maps in fast-food restaurants, service stations and other convenient locations to help disoriented tourists get their bearings.

The task force also talked about quickly expanding the program into other popular tourism areas, starting with Orlando.

Peeper, a task force member, said it's a good idea to evaluate the effectiveness of local signs that direct tourists. ''If we can enhance the convenience - especially to the international visitor - we might create some preventive medicine.''